Happy Halloween!

 We officially carved our pumpkins last Sunday... approximately a week before Halloween and ironically we carved pumpkins five years ago on the same day, not knowing that our little Maddox would arrive the next day! Daddy had fun carving pumpkins to look like each of the boys' current smiles.  This marks the 16th year that Zack and I have carved a pumpkin together! Time flies when you are having fun!

We typically have our church's trunk or treat on the Sunday before Halloween but due to social distancing requirements ad safety protocols our annual fall festival looked a little different.  The church had some food trucks and an illusionist show instead.  The boys got a bag of candy on their way out!  Maddox was called up to help with one of the magic tricks which was pretty cool.  It is crazy to me how big he is getting.... he got called to the stage and easily walked up there unassisted!

On Monday we celebrated our birthday boy with all his favorite things... a room filled with balloons, breakfast at McDonalds, cupcakes and snacks brought to school, a bubble fight in the front yard and dinner at the house with our family (he requested Dairio take out).  I know he probably wanted a big party but he also was just as happy getting to blow out the candle on his cupcake and play with his new toys and the balloons in his room!

Zander finished out his fall season of machine pitch baseball.  He had a blast!  His teacher, Mrs. Richmond, came to his last game.  In his final game, Zander hit a couple doubles and got all three of the outs in the final inning at first base.  I know we are going to miss cheering on #21 on the ball field but now that it is getting darker earlier, I think we will also enjoy being home more evenings and having a little more time to relax as a family!  Zander also lost his 8th tooth last night.  He wiggled it out all by himself and came running out of his room after I had already put him to bed, enthusiastically showing his tooth!

Maddox loves dressing up so I should not be surprised that he was wearing his costume when he woke up this morning.  He came out of his room proudly wearing a Cat Boy costume and decided that while he was a dinosaur last weekend, he wanted to be Cat Boy on Halloween.  Burke joined in the fun by rocking one of his old costumes as well... there is NEVER a dull moment at our house!

The boys decided to wear their costumes all day.... including a visit to the science center and lunch at Freddy's afterwards.  Maddox even got a sweet treat for his good behavior at school all week!  Halloween might look different this year but these boys are embracing whatever the holidays of 2020 have to offer!  

We trick or treated around our neighborhood and it felt great to have some sort of "normal" in the craziest year I've been alive.  The Flowers family came to join us... I think all four kids loved collecting candy from our neighbors.  You will see that Burke and Zander matched as a cop and robber duo.  Tanner also was a police officer and Peyton was a princess!  

Zack created a "socially distanced Halloween candy chute" for us to slide candy from our porch to our neighbors.  The boys loved handing out candy through the chute as much as they loved trick or treating.  They tested it out many times before we started the evening festivities.  I didn't realize until the end of the evening that Zack had spelled "socially" a little differently... haha! The teacher in me was sad that it had been wrong the whole time, but the wife in me was proud that my husband had come up with a creative way to entertain the kids as they came to the houses on our block.  So it had to be documented...correct or incorrect! ;) 

Happy 5th Birthday Maddox!

 Our MadMan Maddox,

We love you so very much! I cannot believe you are a whole hand this year! How did this happen?!  I was looking back at pictures from your birthdays over the years and it seems like these first five years just flew by!  You are the most generous person I know.  For example, yesterday you got birthday money and immediately offered to share it with your brother.  You do the same thing with any new toy or game you receive.  You willingly share with anyone.  You have a smile that lights up a room.  This year you had your two front teeth extracted and I worried that I wouldn't see the smile that I had fallen in love with over these past five years... but sure enough, it is still there and still as cute as ever!  This smile allows you to get away with a lot and probably helps you avoid some warranted punishments.  Right after you turned four, you mastered riding your bike with two pedals.  You have always tried to be a big kid like your big brother.  You have enjoyed school and started PreK this year.  You know your letters and numbers and have started to associate letter sounds with letters and counting objects as well.... the other day you counted to at least 40 by yourself!  You have the sweetest voice when you say your prayers and when you sing songs at bedtime.  I love hearing you sing "Our God is so Great!" and "God is so Good".  You remind me to be thankful for the little things and continue to have such an optimistic personality no matter the circumstances (which lately included your first ER visit for a scratched cornea and your two front teeth extraction).  Due to Covid-19, we weren't able to have a birthday party at Jump n Fun like you wanted.  However, you quickly embraced our new plan to celebrate five years of Maddox! We went for a weekend to Brevard and you loved hiking mountains and finding all the local waterfalls.  It wasn't the birthday we originally planned for this milestone year but you absolutely loved our plan B!  You got so excited when people would wish you a "happy birthday" on the trails (since you were wearing a "birthday boy" shirt all weekend).  You love bedtime cuddles and love to get up extra early to start each day (by 5:30 a.m. every morning).  You still love Hot Wheels Cars and Mario Kart.... pretty much anything that has wheels immediately gets your attention.  You started baseball this year for the first time and did an awesome job hitting from the coach and playing the various positions in the field.  You love playing any sport- your favorites right now are baseball, football and soccer.  You also love swimming in the summertime.  I love how much you love the little things....like swinging at the playground or going for a bike ride around our neighborhood!  You give the best hugs and have the best laugh! I pray your sweet spirit will continue as you get older and you will never be too old for mommy's cuddles and hugs. Hope you enjoy year #5.... the best is yet to come my sweet boy!

With all my love,

Mommy

2019- year #4

2018- year #3

2017- year #2

2016- year #1

2015- your BIRTH year

Family Photos!

We always hear about Friday night lights and football games but when your son plays fall baseball, it seems there are Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday night lights which also make for amazing sunsets provided straight by God!  Here is a picture from a game this week where Zander was covering first base.  He is practicing his stretch prior to the inning starting! haha

Maddox enjoys cheering on his brother and playing with all the other kids who have siblings playing fall ball!

We are still moving along with remote learning.  We found out this week that we are delayed with the kids returning back to school due to a rise in Covid-19 cases in our area.  So it looks like the current school set up will continue into the future.  We had all the staff kids trick or treat through the halls of our school this week.  They had a blast.  You will see Zander on the phone Mia is holding.  He threw up on the way to school, causing us to participate via FaceTime.  Zander was devastated but he is feeling better so that is a good thing! Burke enjoyed the extra cuddles and likes the days we can work from home.  We found out that his cancer has spread past where the tumor was removed and should be talking to an oncologist soon regarding treatment options.  I enjoy the days I get a little extra time with our first born pup!  The boys at school also enjoy playing outside in the afternoon while the moms continue to work.  I took my laptop outside to supervise their baseball game while knocking out work!

Maddox got to bring Mr. Lion home from school.  His teacher sends home the lion with each family over the weekend and we get to document Mr. Lion's adventures.  Maddox loved having Mr. Lion, completing the lion puzzle that came in the bag and taking Mr. Lion with us to find the perfect pumpkin to carve!

The boys love the water bottle holders that Grannie gave them for their bikes! The weather was perfect on Saturday for a bike ride while I took Burke for a little walk.  We also went shopping with some of Maddox's birthday money.  He got a Nerf bow set.  We also celebrated 5 days (all week) of smiley faces for our almost 5 year old!  He picked Boo Batter (cake batter with black food coloring) ice cream with gummy bears!  

This past Monday we took family pictures for the first time.... ever!  The last time the Bakewells had pictures taken professionally was at Aunt Lindsey and Uncle Boomer's wedding...prior to any of the children being born.  It was so much fun to document this time for our family.... we loved seeing the cousins play around between pictures and I am so impressed that my friend, Jordan, was able to capture such great pictures with our busy crew!  She sent us a "sneak peek" of the pictures she has edited so far.... enjoy some pictures of our family!